Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Just so happens I was thinking about the Monongahela some months ago while spending some time aboard the Texas (the BB).
Noting some of the design holdovers from sailing ships aboard what was then a bleeding-edge technology warship of the early 20th century, I pondered the fact that many who served aboard the Texas got their sea legs aboard that ship.
And talk about a study of the Troubles of Transformational Technology, none serves better than the Old Girl pictured above ghosting along with her stun’sls rigged.
Cain’t yew people spell “studdingsails”?
Ok sailors, let’s play stump the Navy. What is a “Soldier’s Breeze”? Heh.
ps. Phib, you be quiet since I already told you.
pss. No it has nothing to do with breaking wind…
>>>Ok sailors, let?
>>>Ok sailors, let’s play stump the Navy. What is a “Soldier’s Breeze”? Heh.
From my trusty, dusty copy of Encyclopedia of Nautical Knowledge (marked with a U.S. NAVPHIBASE Little Creek, VA stamp-but I swear I didn’t steal it):
“A steady beam wind; so called because little skill and less work are required in sailing with such wind; also the older soger’s breeze, cf soger.”
But hey, nothing beats (pardon the pun) a sweet beam reach!
…And speaking of “Soldier” as sobriquet, this from the International Maritime Dictionary 2nd Ed.:
Soldier: Slang word for a seaman who shirks his work. Also called soger, blood sucker, gold brick.
Ok, Give the man an MRE! You are the first person who got it thatI have asked in the past two years. Of course, THEY didn’t have the internet to pull it out of their fourth point of contact… but I’ll give it to you. As for the other sojer comments, I’ll overlook them in the spirit of JOINTNESS…
“Of course, THEY didn?
“Of course, THEY didn’t have the internet to pull it out of their fourth point of contact…”
I promise I didnt Google it. I’ve had those two books (love the smell of old books) for many years and kinda figured it would be in there
And you can keep the MRE. I’d rather go with dogs and eggs for MIDRATS than be *THAT* uncivilized!
Please forgive two questions from a non-sailor… what’s stun’s'l abbreviate? And is it that part of the picture above that looks like a chicken-head?
The ‘chicken head’ appears to be a folded jib on the bowsprit.
You gotta be kidding me! MRE’s are the delicacy of the field level offerings! Why… just take that dried pork patty… mix up a bit of that ketchup in a bag using some water from your n’teen… spread it about the top and you have got one awesome little appetizer there baby! (Of course, it is intended to be the meal… and because it is dehydrated and will quickly re-hydrate as you drink a bit of water, surprisingly enough it fills you up!)
Next order of business is to find some poor schmuck who is allergic to peanuts and require him to fork over the little squeeze bag of peanut butter post haste… then spread that on the Sahara crackers that require three sets of tools to be extracted from their little green bag, and you have got one FINE compliment to that pork pattie!
MRE’s are the BEST! Cannot believe anyone would NOT want to eat Chicken Ala King from a green plastic bag!
(Shakes his head in mock disgust and slides three steps over to the decanter for another two fingers of single malt… neat…)
Excellent pic, Cap’n. Even though I be just an ol’ dirt sailor, I love them tall ships!
GR6, I believe I’ll borrow your question to test my new CPO selectees’ research abilities; in the spirit of Jointness, of course, cause we do work with ya’ll in the sandbox.
Stun’sls’ = Studding Sails.
Lex knows because he is OOD underway qualed! We don’t rig ‘em much on CVNs nowadays.
One learns these things after 21 books of Patrick O’ Brien.
B2
In the spirit of jointness I respectifully request that we all raise a glass and salute the US Army on its 231st birthday.. June 14, 1775-June 14, 2006. Best
I know my last post was off topic… but I was overcome by a desire to get it out… my apologies to you all if your senses were abused.
That said,my love of all things sail like B2′s has been a lifelong affair. Close hauled, in a modest sloop(a Catalina 25)and pushing it in a heavy blow is a close to heaven a one can get while in an upright position . Best
SeabeeSeniorChief- anytime us greensuiters can help. As for Snake Eater, was a modest sloop owner for a number of years too. Went over to the dark side last year with a 32 foot powerboat so with 520 horses I am ALWAYS on a beam reach. Hence the name “Soldier’s Breeze” for the boat. As for another question for the Navy folks out there: What town claims to be the birthplace of the U.S. Navy and who directed the shipbuilding effort there?
Snake Eater – I myself am torn between a J-boat, a 30 say, for banging around the harbor here on a Friday race, or a Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34, for potting up and down the coast, over to Catalina and maybe making a passage to Hawaii, then on – in my most private dream – to Oz.
Of course, the tears I’m torn into are easily mended since I haven’t got the time, scratch or spouse for either. Still, a man can dream. Can’t he?
GreyEagle, my entry Whitehall, NY between Rutland, VT and Lake George, NY… go figure. As to who directed the effort.. a wild guess…John Paul Jones? Best
“Lex knows because he is OOD underway qualed! We don?
“Lex knows because he is OOD underway qualed! We don’t rig ‘em much on CVNs nowadays”
There was a case in WWII where a First Lieutenant (must’ve been a crusty Mustang) rigged up a jib in the open hangar bay on a carrier that had lost-damaged steering.
Can’t remember which battle or boat, but believe it was one of the early ones in both cases….Will get back with you on that one.
Whitehall NY on Lake Champlain is the claim which I think is BS. A canoe factory at best.
Generals Philip Schuyler and Benedict Arnold.
I’m more in line with this version:
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq112-1.htm
B2
Don’t forget the old Tuna with Noodles MRE… Which INTEL pros should wave in front of captured prisoners as an implied threat–’tell us everything you know, or you’ll eat this forever…we have a gazillion metric tonnes of these baking in Kuwaiti shipping containers… just for you!’
The prisoners whisper to themselves in horror:
no! have no truck with ?
Don’t forget the old Tuna with Noodles MRE… Which INTEL pros should wave in front of captured prisoners as an implied threat–’tell us everything you know, or you’ll eat this forever…we have a gazillion metric tonnes of these baking in Kuwaiti shipping containers… just for you!’
The prisoners whisper to themselves in horror:
no! have no truck with قاطع
tuna and noodles سمك التن واو العطف, أيضا, و غباوة
death warrant!! أمر إعدام
Any self-respecting jihadi would BEG for Club Gitmo instead.
Meanwhile, infidel troops can get trade unwanted MREs by swapping with officers. And with enough Tobasco sauce –well, I guess you can get used to anything…
“There was a case in WWII where a First Lieutenant (must?
“There was a case in WWII where a First Lieutenant (must’ve been a crusty Mustang) rigged up a jib in the open hangar bay on a carrier that had lost-damaged steering.”
Not an “early” battle, nor an “early” carrier. It was the Intrepid in 1944:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/i2/intrepid-iv.htm
“The night of 17 February 1944 an aerial torpedo struck Intrepid’s starboard quarter, 15 feet below her waterline, flooding several compartments and jamming her rudder hard to port. By racing her port screw and idling her starboard engine, Captain Sprague kept her on course until two days later strong winds swung her back and forth and tended to weathercock her with her bow pointed toward Tokyo. Sprague later confessed: “Right then I wasn’t interested in going in that direction.” At this point the crew fashioned a jury-rig sail of hatch covers and scrap canvas which swung Intrepid about and held her on course. Decorated by her crazy-quilt sail, Intrepid stood into Pearl Harbor 24 February 1944.”
I believe too, this was the last time a carrier was torpedoed…
B2, Understand your skepticism on the Whitehall bit. Benedict Arnold calling the shots for building the Lake Champlain flotilla is right on. I like tossing out the questions as I learn more stuff by asking. As for you Lex, time and scratch are obstacles you can overcome, but the spouse, nadda. I used like flying my bugsmasher about but I found that it was much more conducive to marital bliss to be a family sailor than a lone eagle. And Lipstick 6 LOVES the powerboat a whole lot more than the sailboat…
“And Lipstick 6 LOVES the powerboat a whole lot more than the sailboat?
“And Lipstick 6 LOVES the powerboat a whole lot more than the sailboat…”
Just exactly what is a trawler?
A married sailor’s compromise…
[...] Some of the pics in the link provided by Sid in the thread below will allow the uninitiated some sense of what it means when airedales talk about “big deck” carriers. Nearest to the camera is Independence, that great rough beast, then Saratoga and finally Intrepid, a World War II veteran, and most decidedly a “small deck.” [...]